An inspiring account for aspiring environmentalists and photographers.
Brazilian photographer and environmental activist Sebastião Salgado used his camera to galvanize the world.
Growing up in the lush Mata Atlântica forest of Brazil, Sebastião cultivated a respect for nature early. That sentiment stayed with him even after he moved to São Paulo and then, after speaking out against the government, fled to Paris, where he took his first photograph. When his work as an economist sent him to Rwanda, he discovered that images were better than reports at telling a more complete story about the people, their lives, and the land. He became a globe-traveling professional photographer, documenting everything from protests for labor rights to wars to environmental destruction. When he returned to Rwanda, the country was in the midst of civil war. The violence affected him so deeply that he retired from photography. He and his wife, Lélia, returned to the Brazilian farm of his childhood to heal, only to find his childhood paradise ravaged by the timber industry. They set out to reforest the land. When the forest began to recover, Sebastião returned to his camera and traveled the world, documenting humans’ relationship with nature. Major events in Sebastião’s life are competently presented for young audiences, with clear chains of cause and effect. Throughout, Hoelzel explores the theme of humanity’s place within nature. The watercolor and pencil illustrations are lush and engrossing, and the many double-page illustrations create an immersive experience.
An inspiring account for aspiring environmentalists and photographers. (author’s note, about Instituto Terra, information on the Mata Atlântica, partial list of Sebastião’s awards and honors, select photographic essays produced by Sebastião and Lélia Salgado, bibliography and other sources, map) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781534477650
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
